Sugar cane mill



Nov. 3, 1931. AfP, LEQNARD 1,830,325

GAR cANE MILL Nov. 3, 1931. A. P. Lr-:oNARD SUGAR CANE MILL Filed Oct. 12, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 3, 1931 PATENT. OFFICE/f r I l ALBERT'P. Lnoimaro,` or :IAcKsoN HEIeH'rs, NEW Yonx 'Strona CANE MILI.r

f ".Atpncafionmea omp'r. .12, 1925. smal No. 61,896.

My invention r'elates to sugar. cane mills andthe like and particularly to cru'shing rolls f e for use therein and to the provision of vmeans' i, for collecting and withdrawing from the rolls 5 the maximum quantity ofI Cane julce. An

important feature ofr my invention relates.

as 'thebagasse roll. :Above andl between the? 'lower rolls isV a top roll which presses down*- 90 upon the same with enormous force, crushing and' mangling the'cane into what is known asbagasse, squeezing out the'canejuice, and rising and fall'lng-with Variations 1n thlckness of the matted bagasse'.r A turnplateis i 23llocated between thelower rolls to guide the ca'ne'from the feed'rcll tothe bagasse roll Vrand a pan/:gis provided below the rolls to collectv the'cxpressed juice." k j 4 i H The pressure oftherolls upon the caneiresults in the)l squeezmg' out of a substant1al i proportion of the j'uiceand the crushing and matting'of the fibrousflstructure of the canel-f fWhen compressedpbetweenthe rolls and turnf p plateV of :the mill'at the high pressure com--r monly used, the'f-blanket' of bagasse becomesu so densely packed as to have a structureapproaching thatof wood. i The resistance Vof this densely matted iibrous material to the flow of juice therethroughl is extremely high.

i 40' In .griindingv at high capacity'andfiwith consequently thick blankets lof bagasse it is apparent nthat much of the juiceV in the upper strata'of the bagasse will'be'prevented from rflowing downward 'into the pan 'below and that the Operation of the Vmill will berendered ineffectuall to that extent.

:In order .to facilitate the collectionl of the I juice which 'is in the lower portion of the.r

P mat, ithas been customary in sugarvcane mills of this character to provide the lower rolls 'with deep lcircumferential grooves which constitute open channels for the flow of juice into the pan. These grooves greatly increase the efliciency of the mill by efl'ecting theremovalr of a greater proportion of the 'expressed, juice than is possible in similarimills notiprovid'edwith such grooves.v

' But no means has heretofore been known so far as'I am awarefor facilitating ithe removal of the juice which a'ppears in the upper'l strata of the calne or bagasse adjacent the top roller; This juicebeing prevented 'bythe 'density of the'mat'from p'assing downwardly to 'the lower rolls and so to the pan is in large partV compelled to remain in the mat as itr passes between the pressure, rolls and is at once reabso'rbed by the bagasse uponthe rei moval'of pressure as the material passes out of the mill. It has apparently beenr thought `7impossible to provide the top roll with pas-x s'ages for the removalyof the juice as these passages would constitute open channels permitting flow ofi'juicefrom the crushed cane at the'inlet side of the machine to the bagasse at the outlet side of machine thereby in effect short circuiting the mill. For this reason existingvdevices are efectual to only a limited extent and it is neecssary to pass the 'cane through a long series of mills in order to extract all of the juice which it is eco-v nomically lpossible to obtain from the cane. v i Objects of my invention include the provision ofmeans for removal of the juice which'finds its way to the upperr portion of the bagasse mat in the sugar cane mill,l forr making use of grooves in the top rollr as well asin the lower rolls and for drawing off .the juice collectedin such grooves', and in general to provide means for makingsugar canel mills of this .type more efficient so that each mill is capable of extracting a greaterperccntage of the expressed juice than heretoforeand so that'a lesser number of mills in. seriesr is'r capable of extractingl the same or greater quantity of juice. i I

Other ob'ects and advantages of the vin- Fig. l shows in Vertical section a device illustratingone embodimentkof my invention. Fig. 2 is a Vertical section of a portion. of the upper roll of such device taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. (Fig. 3 is a Vertical elevation partly in section of anupper roll of such de- V'vice embodying a modified' form of my invention, Fig, 4' is end view of the'roll shown in Fig. :3.1 Fig.r -Tisfafcross sectional view vof the same on the lineof Fig. 3.v

The lCane mill shown'in the drawings 'consists essentially .ofr toproll. 'mounted on turnplate- 16 mountedon turn beam 17.' The sugar cane indicated at 20 is fed'fto the mill byechain 22andis grippedbetween .the top Y ner; UThefdrainage elements 32 are approxiroll 10` and feed rolll2 at the zone indicated by numeral where it islsubjected to enormous pressure resulting in the crushmg and 20 matting of the'can'e andl the pressingout of affllarge portion of the uices thereiirrThe three rollsjaregnormally gear-edito- 'i gether.and.drivenwinsuchlmanner that the top rollrotates cloekwisefiaslshown lnthe drawlngf'whlle the lower-rolls both rotate counter-clockwise; The-surface ofpall three rolls may beserratedil lengitudinal'ly or lcha. eumferentlally ,1n"'-any desizred manner to promote .theucrushing of the 'can'e' and exv-r pression of the juice. In addition all three rolls 'are provided with deep circumferential grooves7 indicated by the pfnunieral"V 201.7 Scrapers 726 arel preferably provided on fixed supportsl adjacent,v the7 .lower rolls and invrl rotation ofjthelo-wer rolls t-o kee the c. v L' groovesrelatively iree Vof bagasse so that they maybe open for theifiowofjuiee. .The

bagass'e; crushed between 'the top roll and feed'rollin-the zone 24 and'between 7the topVV roll and bagasse roll in the 'zone 28 formsa dense mat which'is carr'ied throughf thel mill by the rotation of 'the rolls. Thislmat 'paclrs againstthegsh'oulders of the groovesv and bridgesj'x over thefgrooves but does not ordinarily enter deeply into the O'roovesfor block Lthem up. Thus the grooves provide channels for all juice presse'd drainage'element 32 fitting close to thebottoinof thegrooves aroundthe lower portion i of the roll, all of said drainage elements communicating with a common header34 which is in turn connectedwith asuctionipump:or othervsouree of Vacuum,7 not shownfThe r header 34 maybesupported to move vertically with 'roll 10 in any appropriate manmately Ufshap'ed as shown in f Fig: 1 and are so 'formedas toffitslidably into grooves25' in order that the top roll' 10 .may rotatefreely leading ofl'into the pan 310. out of the VCane Which i reaches the vicinity ofthe lower rolls.`

Vof' the tubes 32 'cane at the zone indicated by through.

stationary inrelation to the roll. rIfhe drainage elements are closed in cross section except 111, j the zone indicated between the arrows A-Ax where they7 are closed only on Vthree thembut' small enough to prevent the entrance of any but-the 'finestparticles of bagacillo or fine bagasse. The ends' 37 of the drainage 'elements are preferably so shaped as to project outside of the surface of the roll 10 asfat 33 to scrape any'fine bagasse from the Vwalls or shoulders 29 of the grooves. Auxiliary cleaning devices39 are'provided tol scrape and i clean the remaining surface of the'rolh v f In the Operation of my improved cane mill the parts are set in fmotion, and caner fed to:

themillin the manner heretoforeknownl At the same tnnevacuum is applied to the header 34 and soto the interior of each drainage element 32,. jflAsthe cane is crushed between the.. rolls the juice from the lower portion of the;

Cane or bagasse works around thelower rolls over the surface and through-the grooves 25 thereof into the pan 30. The juice contained in the upper portion of the cane and ba gasse works upwardlyaround the top roll and into the-fgj'rooves 25 thereof. i As the juice enters these upperfgrooves it is driven lnot only by by thesuction in thel drainagre elements to the i i x. v I i j i .the pressure ofthe'ju'ice. behind it but ralso adaptedto slide through thegrooves 25 durbottom of the La'rooves and so through open- I ing's 35 tor the interior of the drainage. elements and thenceto the header 34. A liquid collecting` tank is inserted between the header and thesource'of Vacuum`,- or, other means provided for collectin'sr the juice so drawn off.

Althoug'h Ihave describedi'my invention in connection with a form of apparatus having mechanical, means for removing the juice from only. one of the three crushing' rolls it v-will be apparent 'that either orv bothof the Vlower rolls maybe provided With similar mechanical means for'collecting the juice with theadvantalge that the juice so collec'ted is .substantially free of all bagasseor other solid impurities; I y

The suction device may be a Vacuum pump, a` siphon orany other appropriate means for producing lower pressure in the outl'et ends thanr exists at the. point of lowest pressure in'the zone A A. i in v It will 'be understood by, those skilled in the art that-there Vis a very lsubstantial collection of juieeiin the upper j numeral 36 in Final and in. the upper portion of the bagasse Vmat in the zone indicated 'by the numeral 38.

portion vof theVV Juicesiat 36 flow forward and downward i the uncompressed bagasse blanket.

probably fare essential to good maceration.- fTherefore zone A-.A isnot shown ex'- "tended to remove them. However, it may be found in practicedesirable. to extend'the zone A-Ato provide exitthrough tubes 32 of the juices in zone 36 as well'as those in zone- 38., v The juices these-zoneswill readily enter the grooves in thetop roll'and will ac-l cordingly be separated' from the bagasse. and Collectedr as described. `jIn the* absence of such grooves and collecting means in the top roll these juices wouldfin largermeasurebe shown in Figs. 3', 4 and -I employ an upper roll 42 lprovided with i a xplurality of. longitudinal` grooves 44 each groove being tapered from' one end of the roll to the other. so thatv atoneend of the roll-the grooves 44 are deep f While-at the other endthey are relatively shalflow. In each groovev 4451- provide a bar 446 e adapted to slide longitudinally and radially in: the groove, the thickness of each bar being, such as to fillthe'groovewith only .s'ufiicient clearanceto permitsliding of the' bar in the I groove. vEach bar v46 'is likewise 'tapered Hso jthat when lying inits corresponding groove? i; with its tapered'edge xin contact Withthetapered bottom of thefgroove the outer Vedge of the bar either lies in the cylindrical surface oftheroll or paralled .to that surface. `The barsy46 extend at one end through flange 48 of the top roll into contactwith a ca'msurfacel r vvhich controlsthe movementof thebars relative tothe top roll 42. The bars may cooperate'with the 'cam surface in any desiredr manner. I 'have shown eachlbar 46 provided with a notch 52 adapted to fit over the cam :surface so that longitudinal movement of the bars' in each Vdirection is controlledV by the cam.v The bars which areadj acent tlie lower portion of therollaremoved by the cam sur-` face 50 longitudinally toward the deep rend of lthe grooves thereby permitting radial movementof the bars toward the center of the roll. The bars 'at the sides and top of V the roll* are 'movedlongitudinally in the op- Dosite direction by the cam surface 50 so that by force of the wedging action of the tapered surfaces ofv the bars and groovestheir outer` edges rapproach the outer cylindrical Vsurface of the roll. i

The cam surface 50 may-be supported-inv any desired manner as by lugs`54v attached 'to the frame uponwhich 'the top roll is supsolA ported. i l I The Operation of this form of the invention is 'as follows: 'i f V Asthe top roll rotates and each bar 46 approachesthe 'crushing zone it is drawn longitudinally with respect to its grooves and by reason of its tapered form is perm-itted to move at the same time radially inward thereby producing anopen channel running longii tudinally of the roll, the outer edge of the bar forming the bottom of the channel. The crushing pressure forces juice and' bagasse from the top of the mat into the channel so formed, the lbagasse bridging over the channel and the juice flowing into it under enormous pressure. The juice is thus permitted to rflow longtudinally of the roll through the passage and escapethrough spaces 55 and 56 in the flanges 48 and 58 respectively of the top roll. Any appropriate means may be provided for collecting and withdrawing the juice lwhichis thus forced out at the end of the top roll.' As the top roll rotates further and the bar emerges from the crushing zone it ismoved longitudinally b-y the cam surface 50 and by. lWedging action it is moved at the r same time radially outward thereby scraping fth'e sides of thegrooveandfforcing out any bagasse whichhasadhered to the groove. Thus When the bar in question rotates once lnore 'into the crushing zone iand moves end- Wise. .and radially to form' an outlet passage V for the juice as described theoutlet passage is clean and free of bagasse and effective for the purpose desired. Without some such means for scraping and cleaning-the groove to remove accumulated' bagasse the passage would become l clogged With bagasse and would shortly become useless. v

In apparatus embodying my rinvention it Will be seen that the proportionvof the total moisture removed-in each mill is very substantially greater thanr in' mills heretofore known and that important economies in operation and .capital expenditure are thereby made possible.

ItV will of course be understoodthat the foregoing description of my invention and the illustration ofV a device embodying it in the drawings are not intended as limitations of the invention and that a wide variety of changesand modifications may be made in the structure and Operation thereof without departing from my invention as defined in the xappended claims. i

VVhat I claim and desire to fibrous material, a pair of crushing rollers, oneof said rollers having passages for receiving liquid expressed from the crushedv jfibrous' material, and means lying substan-' tiallyawithin said passages forpermitting flowr of'liquid into said passages and preventing passage of any vbut .the finest particles `of fibrous material. e

I 2. In a' mill 'for extracting liquidx from fibrous material,` a'pair of crushing rollers, one of said rollers having passages for receiving liquid expressed from thel crushed fibrous materiahand conduits arranged in said passages for withdrawing liquid therefrom, 'said conduits being spaced fromthc r Secure by Letl =ters Patent of the United States is f 1. VIn a mill for extracting liquid from walls of i the tpassages suflicientlyvto 7 permit vflow of liquid and to prevent passage lofany but theiinest particles of fibrous material.

'3. In a mill 'for extracting liquid fifrom fibrous material the combination with Vupper v and lower:crushingirolls of groovesiin'the 'uppertcrushing rroll providing channels for the exit of liquid fromthe .supper strata of v`the crushed fibrous. material and means for removing fibrous material adhering 'to the sides of said groovesfi f Avmillifor extracting liquid from lfibrous material including upper and lower crushingro'lls,pgrooves in the upper crushing roll providing channels forl the exit-of liquid from the upper. strata of the crushed'fibrous materiaL' meazns for ri'femoving-Vthe liquid which enters suchrooves and means :forr

lie-moving fibrous 1 material a'dheringr to the S'lCles lof Said vgrooves, i

i '5. 'A mill for extra'ctingliquid from fibrous material including lupper and lower crushing rol-ls, groovesfiin the surface of the upper;`

crushing roll providingrchannels. for the exit of liquid from the upper strata of'the crushedV fibrousfmaterial-,Lpressure-actuated means for removing the i liquid vfrom suchi'grooves and means for removing fibrous material adherto the sides/of said groove's.'- 5

` 6; A iillforextracting liquid from fibrous material including a crushing' roll, -grooves in such roll V'providing drainage for' such liquid, pressure actuatedqmeans for removing the liquid from such -grooves and meansr for removing ifibrous? material'adhering to the sides of said grooves.

7. The 'combination u'fithv a crushing roller,

and grooves therein Vof means for withdrawing liquid'from said groov'cs having tubes col'nmunicating therewith and with a suction device 'and'mean's lfor remoif'in'gibrousl material adhering to the sides of said grooves.

. 8. .The combination with I a fcru'shing roller and grooves therein of means'for withdra'w ing liquid from said grooves including tubes' communicating 'therewth, means for maintaining lower pressure at 'anotherzportion'of V'said tubes'thanat the point of theirycommunication with saidgrooves and means for removing fibrous material adhe'ring to the sides of said grooves. V;

19; The combination with' a crushing roller andcircumferential groov'es in the surfaceV .thereof," of means Vfor withdrawing :liquid from saidV grooves including tubes lying partiall'ywithin said' grooves and .communicate ing therewithadjacent'ithe bottom Vof'said l grooves, said tubes being slightly smaller thansaid grooves, to provide clearance for.

the flow of liquid but to prevent the entrancc of any but the finest'particles of solid matter.

v10. The combination'with a crushing roller and circumferentml grooves 1n the'surface thereof, of means for wlthdrawmg liquid from said grooves including tubes adapted to lie! within f'saidi? grooves vfadj acent thei-H'crush ing zone; said tubes .communicating with said grooves in the said zone 'and means forfmaintaining lower pressure at anotherV portion of said tube's than .at the point of their communcation'with said grooves toproduce flour` i of liquid therethrough.

'11. The combinationwith a crushingtrollerl i and ci-rcu'mferential groovesin the surface ther'eof, of means .for wlthdrawmg 1l1qu1d from saidgrooves including stationary'tubes i adapte'd to fbe within said grooves adjacent the crushing zone, said tubescommunicating with saidvgroove's ad] acent thebottom's there' of in the said zone andV communicating-elsewhere with a suction device." 4 i I 12." A liquidwremoving element' for a roll mill'i-ucluding a series of parallel tubes, means for securing'the same to the mill,7 said' tubes being arc-shaped inpart to lie adjacent to' the surface ofa r'oller'ofthesaid mill and being open through a portionof said'arc. I L

113. In a mill for extractingvliquid from fibrousr material, 'the combination with a 7crushingroll 'of means lyi'ng, substantially within the'periphery ofsaidroll and providing an exitfor liquid crushedfrom such ma-r superficial grooves 'for receivingliquid eX-r pressed fromthe upper stratafof the crushed fibrous 'matcria-l, means for withdrawing from sald grooves liquid accumulated: therein and means forremovingfibrou's material adhering to the sides7 of said grooves..v

1.6. In a mill for eXt-racting' liquid from7 fibrous material, pair of crus'hingrollers, one ofzsaid rollers having superficial grooves,

and inwardly facing arcuate troughsinsaid grooves for withdrawing therefrom liquid accumulated therein, the .edges ofsaid troughsY being'spaced from'thewalls'of said grooves. a suflicient distance to' permit flow of liquidV therebetween and prevent passage of'anybut 'the finest partijcles offibrous material.

i VIn testimony lwhereof,'I have signed my name to this specification.: e ALBlilRflfv LEONARD.: 

